Jaguar Land Rover Testing in America

When you think “Jaguar,” chances are the sort of inclimate conditions that come to mind is the proverbial “pissing rain” characteristic of London. And while Land Rover certainly evokes conditions that are significantly more trying—after all, many of the vehicles are engineered to handle off-the-tarmac driving and then some—the notion of really, really cold weather and snow (and then some) probably doesn’t come to mind.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it. . .

So it may come as a surprise that the Jaguar Land Rover has established a winter test facility in International Falls, Minnesota. Yes, the company owned by an Indian company, the company that is as British as it gets, is going to be doing winter testing in the place that Bullwinkle was undoubtedly referring to as “Frostbite Falls.” After all, the temps can get to -55 F there, and that is nothing to sniff at (largely because any sniffs will freeze).

Explains Martyn Hollingsworth, Jaguar Land Rover Engineering Director, “The United States is one of our largest global markets, and investing in a world-class winter testing facility here is imperative to the success of Jaguar Land Rover in North America.

Indeed, the Jaguar Instinctive All Wheel Drive system was developed primarily for North American use.

What’s more, it turns out that Jaguar Land Rover also has a hot-weather test facility in Phoenix.